Christmas Eve at the West House
by TvGal16
Summary: This story continues where the winter finale left off. I don't like spoiling a story but I'll give you some key words. Karaoke, WESTALLEN of Course, and some romance... lol! Just read it! I'm bad at this as you can tell.
1. Chapter 1

**Christmas Eve at the West House.**

**Continues where the winter finale left us.**

Its 11:52pm on the eve of Christmas. Joe has headphones in as he tries to block everyone out while he watches the game he had missed between Manchester and Chelsea on his laptop. Cisco and Caitlin are trying to convince Barry, Iris & Eddie to participate in their annual CCKB - Christmas Carol Karaoke Battle. Cisco thinks the name needs some improvement but he has yet to come up with one after 3 yrs. Also he thinks having everyone join in will help Caitlin forget just for the night what her fiancé has now become.

"Come on you guys, it's gonna be fun. Tis the season to be Jolly after all right? So why is everyone standing in the way of my attempts at spreading some good' ol Christmas Cheer?" Cisco argues. Eddie chimes in, "If it's going to get Iris to sing, count me in." He says charmingly as he smiles at Iris. "I've actually never had the pleasure." He continues. Iris nervously gives him a sly smile that only last's a few seconds. Barry watches from across the room and tries to contain the gut wrenching jealousy he's trying so hard to hide with a giggle. He's actually heard Iris sing once at their middle school talent show where she came in second place. Her voice was... something. After her mom left, it seemed like she took Iris' will to sing with her.

Barry always assumed singing reminded her of her mom; someone she's tried so hard to forget for years. Ever since he heard her sing it, he knew _Wonderwall_ was her favorite song. Sometimes when she's alone at Jitters working the night shift, Barry would walk in on her humming the tunes. What's truly sad is she's not smiling like she was when he first heard her sing it. And when she realizes Barry's presence, she immediately stops and tries to avoid the topic by being the cheerful, witty, selfless Iris she's known to be. And Barry truly gets it so he doesn't confront her about it. He knows talking about her mom is the Bermuda Triangle in their relationship. A topic to never be discussed. Ever. And he respects that because he knows she'll open up when she's ready.

This sudden realization about what Eddie was trying to make her do caused him to chime in and say, "Iris is a horrible HORRIble singer. Did I put enough stress on the horror part? Its Christmas Karaoke let's keep it Merry and spare our ears from... " He stops then looks at Iris for a few seconds. She looks at him and then looks down. He then turns to Eddie and says with a tone that can only be described as serious yet concerned. "Please, just... don't make her sing." Eddie laughs it out by saying, "Okay, Okay … dude, it all depends on if Iris wants to or not." He says turning to her. Everyone is now looking at her and she looks quite tense for a second then she breathes and says, "As much as I hate to admit it. Barry's right. If there was a TV show that appreciated my kind. I'd be the first to sign up. Don't be rude Barry, because when I win, your name is gonna be excluded from my winning speech!" Iris says daringly with a smirk as she directs the last few words to Barry.

Barry turns to everyone, "See what I mean, you all should be thanking me." Eddie clearly surprised at this revelation turns to Iris and whispers, "Wow, something you're actually not good at. Well, that's a first." Iris giggles and says to everyone. "Eddie's going to sing for both of us and ... I'll be the judge. I might be tone deaf to my own lousy singing but I know good singing when I hear one." She says smiling and turning to Eddie. They both giggle for a moment and Iris realizes Barry might be looking at them and what kind of person would she be if she flirted with her boyfriend in front of her best friend after he just confessed his love for her earlier that day. "Gosh, I'm a bitch!" She thinks to herself. She looks his way and he immediately avoids her gaze and starts setting up the mic. She feels even guiltier.

10 mins later everything is set up and Cisco has decided the order in which they're going to sing. "Me-Caitlin-Eddie (Iris) – and last but not least, Barry" Cisco says out loud. Eddie jokingly says, "Barry, since you were too quick to judge Iris, I'm thinking you're a pretty good singer huh?" Iris has heard Barry sing before. They used to sing together all the time when her mom was around. But he never sings anymore and now she's wondering why. She assumes Barry has nothing to sing about after the tragedy that happened to his parents.

The show starts and Cisco sings, _It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. _Everyone is shocked at his excessive energy, vibrancy and theatrics. He makes his voice as deep as he can and moves with the beat. Caitlin can't help but laugh and cheer for him. Everyone else is just shocked. In the end, they all burst out laughing as they clap. Cisco finishes with a bow and takes a seat.

Caitlin goes next and sings "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." She's really good too and everyone finds comfort in her voice. Then Eddie goes next and sings, "All I want for Christmas Is You". The entire time he sang he was looking at Iris, she just didn't know how to react. Why didn't she know how to react? Iris thinks to herself. This is her boyfriend for heaven's sake. They're freaking moving in together. Iris thinks to herself. And OMG Barry! This must feel like hell to him. How can she get herself out of this juxtaposition? Eddie keeps singing, "All I want for Christmas is you… you … baaaabayyy." Iris nervously smiles at him and then turns to face Barry.

FIN.

I hope you liked my attempt at Fan Fiction. Please Ignore my grammatical errors.

Let me know what you think! I'm open to constructive criticism so Hit me! Lol What are you loving? What are you hating? let me know!

Should I write another one or continue this? I'd really appreciate feedback if I'm gonna continue this story.

Thanks for reading!

xxxx splendidjanie xxxx


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Previously...

This is her boyfriend for heaven's sake. They're freaking moving in together. Iris thinks to herself. And OMG Barry! This must feel like hell to him. How can she get herself out of this juxtaposition? Eddie keeps singing, "All I want for Christmas is you… you … baaaabayyy." Iris nervously smiles at him and then turns to face Barry.

She could have sworn Barry was sitting on that old wingback library chair just seconds ago. How could he not be there? Did he just freaking disappear into emptiness? She was getting worried. Why would Barry just opt and leave without saying anything? That was so not like him. Now she was really getting worried.

"Guys?" Iris whispers nervously. "You guys!" she says a little louder as she tries to get Eddie to stop singing. "Hey!" She finally yells. Everyone turns to her but the background music keeps playing.

"Are you okay?" Cisco inquires. "What's going on Iris?" Caitlin continues.

"Are you guys seriously oblivious to the fact that Barry's just... disappeared?" She has a confused look on her face.

"I mean who am I to talk I just noticed he was gone about a minute ago. What kind of people are we?... What kind of person am I?" Iris starts to break down as the walks back and forth pondering.

Caitlin and Cisco exchange a knowing look. They immediately knew he used his speed to leave unnoticeably.

"I'm pretty sure he's alright. He's ... Barry!" Caitlin says with a knowing look written all over her face.

Cisco backs her up, "Yeah, Barry's probably taking a walk down the street to watch the Christmas light displays. Your neighborhood really goes ALL OUT by the way." He nods.

"Yeah. Barry can take care of himself hun; you have nothing to worry about." Eddie reassures her and attempts to wrap his hands around her waist. Iris turns the other way and faces Cisco and Caitlin.

"But why would he leave in such an ... odd manner...?" She whispers to both herself and the others. She then takes out her phone and dials Barry's number. He doesn't answer.

She's even more worried at this point. Barry has never NOT taken her calls no matter where he was or what he was doing. She always knew he was the one she could count on. He has always been the only constant in her life. In the words of Oasis, he was her ... Wonderwall.

"He's not picking up, why isn't he picking up?" She says in a tone that could only be described as concerned yet anxious. She was on the verge of tears like she was going to lose it any second.

Eddie turns her frame to face him. Her eyes were glassy at this point and he had never seen her this worked up before about anything in the life of their relationship. He found himself speechless.

"Eddie, I need to find him. I need to get out there and find him. It's like freaking 20 degrees out there Eddie; he might be freezing to death for all we know." Iris starts raising her voice, and then she turns towards the door and just walks out.

Eddie tries to walk out with her but Caitlin gives him a look that could only mean - don't get in the way.

"AT LEAST TAKE A JACKET!" he yells at her disappearing silhouette.

"IT'S FREEZING! ... It's freezing out there." He whispers in defeat.

Iris just keeps walking aimlessly down the streets. She has no idea where Barry would go. He doesn't drive so she's sure she can catch up with him. She's getting really cold. Her fingers and ears are beginning to get numb. She takes her hair out of the bun it was in and lets it fall over her ears. She starts hugging her frame as she walks. "I'm going to kill him for making me do this." She viciously whispers to herself.

She's now been walking for 10 minutes and still no sight of Barry. She's uncontrollably shivering at this point but the thought of giving up has yet to cross her mind. "Where are you...Bearrr?" she starts to whisper as she turns to look at their local Dive Bar across the street. The "We're Open" sign was on.

"One would have to be pretty lonely to even think about spending their Christmas Eve at such a place." She thinks to herself. Almost suddenly, she sees the silhouette of a young adult guy with his hands in pocket and his head bowed down walking towards the Dive. She takes a closer look and comes to the realization that it's Barry!

"BARRY! BARRYYY!" she shouts out while waving and jumping. He obviously can't hear her, she assumes. She looks for oncoming vehicles on both sides of the road and crosses the road.

"Barryyyy! Ugh, please don't make me run!" She says to herself. She's now running towards him and trying to catch up.

She finally does and she's now breathing heavily. She's walking and calling out, "Barry! Hold up!" Barry finally turns to face her. She's panting like she just ran a mile and her hands are now on her knees because she's exhausted.

"Go home Iris." He simply says to her and keeps walking.

Now she's really angry. "Why are you doing this Barry? Did you really think we wouldn't notice you were gone? Cause that's jus –"

Barry quickly cuts her off. "Oh, I'm sorry Iris; I guess it's just kinda impossible to think while you and your ... boyfriend were being Central City's Cutest Couple." He shouts, turning to faces her.

Iris looks at him, utterly shocked by his tone and slowly replies, ""You know that's not fair." She looked like she was going to start crying any second. A strong wind blows and she hugs her frame and looks down.

"Oh Iris. Not fair?" Barry starts walking towards her with an intense look that could also be described as passionate.

"Are you seriously going to talk to me about unfairness? If there's anyone in the world who hasn't experienced a day of unfairness in their life, it's you, Iris West. Seriously Iris, when have things ever not gone your way?"

"Barrr –" Iris cries out.

"No Iris, I'll tell you what isn't fair." Barry starts. "Watching you go off to Senior Prom with Nate Evans wasn't fair. You telling me in excruciating details how your first kiss went with Shane Voss was far from being fair."

"Barry.., stop." Iris keeps trying to make him stop talking.

"And waking up from my coma just to see you moved on and fell in love with Eddie Thawne felt like someone literally put a dagger through my heart."

"Stop!" Iris begins to scream.

"Iris, I haven't even started. My paren - "

"BARRY JUST STOP!" She finally screams at the top of her lungs.

FIN

How do you like the angst? Lol

I so wasn't planning to go down this road but I'm glad I did.

Thanks to all of you who are sending me great feedback.

It really helps and your comments really motivate me to write more so if you can leave one

What are you liking / hating? Let me know.

If you'd like to guest write a chapter to this story, hit me up! I would be more than happy to have a coauthor. Like I said before, Westallen means a lot to me and I take my time to write to its perfect so please bare with me I don't update as frequently as I should.

SAVE THIS STORY SO AS TO GET NOTIFIED WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER IS POSTED!


	3. Chapter 3

Previously...

"And waking up from my coma just to see you moved on and fell in love with Eddie Thawne felt like someone literally put a dagger through my heart."

"Stop!" Iris begins to scream.

"Iris, I haven't even started. My paren -"

"BARRY JUST STOP!" She finally screams at the top of her lungs.

SILENT NIGHT

Iris isn't wearing much. The weather is getting really bad. When the winds blew, if you listened closely you could hear a howl.

She hugs her frame very tightly while teardrops ran down her cheeks. She's trying really hard to get the words out but all that comes out is the sound of her teeth chattering.

She's shaking and hugging herself even more tightly.

From where Barry is standing, he notices that if she hugged herself any tighter she would crush all the bones in her body.

He quickly takes off his jacket and covers her back with it. Then he takes off the scarf around his neck and wraps it all around her hands. He holds them tight and tries to blow more heat into the little scarf cocoon he just created.

"Is that warm enough?"He says staring at her while he continues to blow warm air into her scarf covered hands.

"No Barry." Iris starts to take off the jacket he had put around her and unravels the scarf he earlier covered her hands with. "Here." she slowly hands them over to him. She wipes her tears and stares into his eyes for a few seconds.

"Iris what are you doing? If your skin is exposed to the cold any longer you're going to get frostbite." Barry reassures her in a serious tone.

"Well, I don't give a shit Barry!" Iris yells at him. "Besides, taking your jacket and letting you freeze isn't exactly fair. Is it?" She whispers turning to look across the street.

"Iris, I'm serious. If we don't get you home as soon as possible you're ..." he starts but remembers forcing Iris to do anything against her will is futile. "I'm sorry." He says looking at her directly. "I'm sorry for lashing out like that. It was completely out of line and I'm making this all about me. It's just ... I've kept all these feelings buried inside for a really long time and I just need to let it out somehow you know?"

He takes his eyes away from her. "That's why I left. I felt like I... like I couldn't breathe watching you two. I didn't expect you to walk out and start a manhunt in the middle of the night wearing close to nothing." He points at her clothes and starts to giggle.

Iris joins him. Her eyes are still teary but now she's smiling.

"I just needed to be alone." He admits. "Now can I PLEASE take you home before I have to explain to Joe why his daughter looks like a character from Frozen?" He begs her.

Iris looks up at him and smiles. She's still hugging herself and shaking like she just had a bucket of cold water dumped on her.

Barry walks over to her and puts his jacket around her and wraps her hands with the scarf just like he did before. He then looks at her and motions with his hand, "After you."

They start to walk side by side in the silent night.

Iris notices Barry starting to hug himself and rubbing his hands together.

She steps closer to his side and puts her hand behind his waist. He then brings her entire body closer to him to keep him warm as well as they walked side by side.

Barry stops to look at her and smiles nervously. "I don't ... think we should be..."

"What do you mean?" Iris asks without a clue about what he's trying to say.

Barry looks at her hand around his waist and looks back at her.

"I'm not letting you freeze because of me, Barry. Besides, it's not like we've never done this before." She says as she lifts his hand and puts it around her neck. "Now stay close if you wanna keep warm."

They walk in silence all the way home until they get to the front porch.

Barry quickly lets go of her and steps to the opposite side. He's about to ring the door bell but Iris stops him. She faces him and starts.

"Honestly, I have no idea how to respond to everything you told me. I just need time to process. You have no idea how much its killing me knowing that you had all these feelings and I was clueless. I should have known. Lately, it's been like I barely know you anymore and that scares the shit out of me." She looks him straight in the eye and says. "I love Eddie. I'm sorry, but I do."

Barry puts his hand behind his head and says, "Iris, if you're trying to make me feel better, you're doing a horrible job."

"I love him and I love you too. You are like my favorite person in the whole world and I don't know what I'd do if we ever stopped being friends. I can't imagine life without you in it."

She pauses. "God, I have no idea if I'm saying all the wrong things here but I'm being honest and you at least deserve that. I'm really hoping we can move past this. I'm really sorry Bear."

She starts crying and walks closer to him and hugs him tightly.

"It's not your fault Iris, my timing wasn't exactly pristine. I had fourteen years to tell you and..."

"No." Iris cuts him off. "I should have known. It's my fault for not knowing. What kind of friend doesn't know when the other is hurting?"

She pulls back from him and looks him in the eye. "Promise me we'll get through this. Promise me you'll tell me everything from now onwards. No more secrets."

Barry breaks the eye contact and looks the other way as he says, "No ... no more secrets."

"I'm so sorry." Iris whispers.

"Iris, stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong. Its only making it worse." Barry reassures her.

"Oh, I'm..." Iris starts but catches herself.

"It's Christmas ever. Now stop crying. I don't want Eddie thinking I hurt you or something."

They both giggle. Iris turns and rings the door bell. Eddie opens the door and immediately hugs her.

"God you're freezing." He whispers behind her ear.

Caitlin and Cisco walk over and hand's them a blanket.

They all walk to the couch and sit down.

Eddie brings Iris closer to him in attempts of keeping her warm and they start cuddling.

"So Barry, why did you run out unannounced? You should have seen Iris. She had us all freaked out." Eddie looks at him curiously.

FIN

THANKS FOR READING

Hopefully you guys don't hate me after reading this!

Barry will be just fine. He didn't lose Iris and that's all that matters.

What do you like? What do you hate? Let me know in the comments.

I just want to thank all of you who leave feedback after reading every chapter.

Its means a lot to me and motivates me to write more and I couldn't thank you guys enough!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Until next time,

xxxxsplendidjaniexxxx


	4. Chapter 4

Previously...

They all walk to the couch and sit down.

Eddie brings Iris closer to him in attempts of keeping her warm and they start cuddling.

"So Barry, why did you run out unannounced? You should have seen Iris. She had us all freaked out." Eddie looks at him curiously.

**Coffee Encounters.**

It's 9:30am. Barry wakes up late; as usual, and has to be at work by 10:00am. He uses his speed to shower and thankfully arrives the station on time. He walks in and accidentally bumps into Eddie who was carrying a cup of hot coffee.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry Eddie. I was rushing and I really didn't see you there." Barry starts apologizing.

"It's totally fine, Allen, don't worry about it. But I'm going to need another cup of coffee. My sanity runs on that stuff." He explains. Thankfully, Iris always has one readymade for me every morning." Eddie says with a smile plastered on his face.

Iris, of course was the reason he had gone to bed later than usual. She had called him that same night as soon as he entered his apartment. They talked about their feelings. Iris insisted they spilled all of their secrets because she couldn't bare finding out another one of his secrets. Iris went on about missing him when he was in the coma and how alone she felt when she couldn't see him or talk to him. He had been her oldest and closest friend for so long that she had no one to turn to. That is, until Eddie came along. She talked about how supportive and caring he had been: driving her to and from Star Labs whenever she had the day off work so she could see him. She told him how Eddie was always there for her when she felt all alone.

"Iris, just so you know, I refuse to be your maid of honor. You're going to have to find yourself some female friends before it's too late. You're already moving in with Eddie, who knows what's next?" Barry jokingly insisted and Iris immediately knew that was his way of giving his blessing to them.

"Aw, I was so looking forward to seeing you in sea foam lace!" She had replied in a sarcastic but disappointing tone. "And besides, I have other friends besides you. You just haven't met them yet. But you're right; I do need some friends of my own gender. Not telling you every detail of my relationship with Eddie is going to be really hard." She had said with an honest tone.

"Iris, we can talk about Eddie. But the really intimate stuff you have to keep to yourself. It's going to be hard but I'll try my best to be supportive." He reassured her.

Hearing those words had meant the world to her. In a way, the awkwardness had evaporated in thin air.

"Earth to Barry Allen!" Eddie says, waving to his face.

"Sorry, I didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm going to need some coffee too if I plan on getting anything done today." Barry tells to Eddie. "What's your usual?" He asks.

"Just tell Iris, she knows how I like it." Eddie smiles and walks away.

Barry was suffocating with jealousy. He hurried out of the station and in a blink of an eye, he found himself at Jitters.

He expected to see Iris behind the counters but she was nowhere to be found. Asking her co-workers was not an option since jitters was really busy between the hours of 6 and 12. He took out his phone and decided to give Eddie a call to ask him for his usual order since Iris was apparently nowhere to be found.

Although her absence was unusual, he felt relieve in that he wasn't quite ready to face her just yet. He was scared and wished the other night didn't happen so they could go back to being Barry and Iris; the very best of friends.

He turned and decided to take his leave when he heard.

"Barry!" he turned to se Iris smiling and rushing towards him.

She was wearing a pair of high waisted blue jeans that hugged her frame and accentuated her long legs, paired with a cream white turtleneck short sleeved knitted top and some black ankle booties. He also noticed her hair was up in a messy bun, allowing some strands to fall down her temples. Iris had never worn her hair up for as long as Barry could remember. He never thought she could look any prettier but seeing her right then and there changed that. He also noticed she wore the replica of her mom's wedding band he had given her for Christmas. He tried to hide his smirk as she hurried past the customers towards him.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" She was happy but also surprised to see him. Barry couldn't even get himself to work on time, let alone stop for morning coffee.

"I accidentally spilled coffee on Eddie cause I was ru ..." Eddie started but was interrupted.

"... nning late. And you're here for another one?" Iris smiled and continued for him.

"Exactly." He smiled and nodded. All he could think about was how effortlessly gorgeous she looked. She had no idea what she was doing to him.

A beautiful redheaded girl walked up to them and turned to Iris, "Iris I have to get going, but it was very nice seeing you."

The girl was regular height and had long red hair that went perfectly with her green eyes.

"Oh, so soon?!" Iris turned to her and said with a saddened look on her face. "It was really nice catching up and I'd love for us to meet sooner than later at a more desirable setting next time." She said jokingly.

She noticed Barry was looking into space. "Oh! I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Eden, this is my best friend, Barry." She motions to Barry. "And Barry, this is Eden, the roommate AND ZBZ sister I've told you about." Iris motions to Eden.

Iris and Eden both met as pledges in ZBZ, the most elite sorority at their university. They became roommates once they moved into their sorority house and became close friends until Eden decided to travel abroad to France during their junior year.

Barry and Eden both smile and shake hands.

"Okay, you two get acquainted while I get Eddie's coffee ready. And Barry, don't take this the wrong way but you really look like you could use a cup. So what's it going to be sleepyhead?" She asks.

"Very funny Iris." He grinned. "Just plain black." He replied.

"How about you, Eden? Would you like anything to go?" Iris asked.

"I can't believe you forgot." She replies disappointedly.

"Shut up! I thought that was just a phase." Iris says shockingly. She then turns to Barry and explains. "Eden decided to go vegan during sophomore year. She banned all caffeinated beverages and non – organic foods from her diet. I just never thought she would stick to the healthy eating lifestyle for this long." She gives Eden a surprised look.

"Iris, I'm right here you know? And I can be quite committed if I want to." She defends herself.

"I'm so proud of you Eden." Iris smiles. "And trust me when I say, it shows. Your skin is basically glowing and you have the body of a professional yoga instructor. I'm seriously reconsidering my eating choices now." She tells Eden.

"Okay, enough chattering, two cups coming up!" She says and hurries away.

Barry felt nervous as Iris left him with Eden. It was kind of awkward until he decided to break the ice first.

"So, Eden, where you named after the garde..." He starts but Eden quickly finishes for him.

"The garden of Eden? Yes. My parents are very pious folk. Shockingly, you and Iris have been the only people to figure it out. Most people usually assume I was named after a Vegas striper." She tells him and giggles.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Barry." She smiles at him. "Iris wouldn't shut up about how much she missed you when we roomies." She laughed. "Something about you leaving her for blood and bones?" She inquires.

"Yeah, I work in the forensics department at Central City's Police Station." He smiles at her. "Oh and Iris mentioned you abandoned her for cheese and croissants?" Barry told her with a raised eyebrow.

"She actually said that?!" Eden giggled. "I can't say I'm surprised. Iris has always had a unique way with words. She could always WOW all the professors. Journalism is indeed her calling." Eden continues.

"She really does, doesn't she? I'm surprised she needed me to tell her that." Barry smiles to himself. Then catches himself and says, "So France huh?"

"Yeah! France was great. The culture, music and atmosphere seemed like a recurring daydream. After two weeks of exploring French Literature at _Lycee Descartes,_ I had an epiphany. Every night I would go to the Bibliotheque, and instead of reading there, I would go to the different restaurants and just get completely lost in the menus." She started.

"It slowly became a problem when I realized I was reading more restaurant menu's than books. It then became clear that I was more invested in French cuisine than French Literature. So, I spent the rest of my time there interning with multiple souse chefs and taking nutrition classes." She smiles and nods at Barry.

Barry laughed. "Wow, who would've thought? I'm glad you found your niche. Too bad you had to go all the way to France to find it." Barry tells her.

Eden explains passionately. "No, Paris was phenomenal. The people there were more than inspiring. The art, the culture, the food, it was all very different but in a very good way. Paris will always have a place in my heart."

"Two cups to go!" Iris walks up smiling and hands them to Barry.

Eden says to Barry. "It was really nice to meet you Barry."

"And Iris, call me." She turns to Iris and hugs her tightly. She then walks and exits out of Jitters.

"So...?" Iris presses. She's now playfully hitting Barry's arm like she always does when she's excited.

"Ahhwwww! That hurts. And what do you mean?"

"You know what Barry ... never mind, we'll talk later. The coffee's getting cold and if you're late again, I swear my dad will kill you, so scurry off!" Iris reminds him but still continues to slap his arm.

"Alright! Alright! I'm leaving!" Barry replies as he turns around and leaves.

He waits until Iris goes behind the counter. He stands outside the window and watches her move around taking orders. She greets every one of them with her signature bright smiles and even the grumpiest of them couldn't help but return that smile back. He just stood there in awe of how beautiful she is. Her smile had a certain charm that even science couldn't explain.

For two minutes, he stood there admiring her. To him, it felt more like forever.

Thanks for reading.

Are you guys liking Eden's character? She was inspired by Eden from Nip/Tuck.

What do you love? What are you hate?

Let me know in the comments! I appreciate every single feedback I get so please, please, please leave me some

I'm sorry I didn't write at all last week.

This was by far the hardest chapter to write but I'm trying my best.

Anyone who would want to co-write this storyline with me should let me know.

Until Next Time. Remain Blessed.

XxxxsplendidjanieXxxx


	5. Chapter 5

Previously...

"You know what Barry ... never mind, we'll talk later. The coffee's getting cold and if you're late again, I swear my dad will kill you, so scurry off!" Iris reminds him but still continues to slap his arm.

"Alright! Alright! I'm leaving!" Barry replies as he turns around and leaves.

He waits until Iris goes behind the counter. He stands outside the window and watches her move around taking orders. She greets every one of them with her signature bright smiles and even the grumpiest of them couldn't help but return that smile back. He just stood there in awe of how beautiful she is. Her smile had a certain charm that even science couldn't explain.

For two minutes, he stood there admiring her. To him, it felt more like forever

"**Like Crazy."**

It is now 7:00pm on the dot. Iris wave's goodbye to her co-workers as she exits Jitters. She then decides to swing by the police station and talk to Barry as she had earlier promised. She enters and stops by Eddie's office just to find it empty. She starts walking towards the stairs when she hears her dad's voice, "If you're looking for Eddie, he's with Barry."

She turns around and flashes a smile at him. "Thanks dad! See you in time for dinner?" she asks.

"Its Mac & Cheese night, Iris, you know I never miss Mac & Cheese night." He reassures her and walks away.

Iris giggles and continues up the stairs. The station seemed deserted. She figured most of the officers had gone home for the night. She finally reaches the second floor and sees Barry and Eddie fully indulged in an ongoing police investigation. With Barry's back facing her, she just couldn't resist it.

She slowly creeps step by step; carefully trying to silence every creek the floor might make. Eddie catches her sneaking. She quickly smiles and places a finger on her lips signaling for Eddie to keep quiet. He gets the message and tries to keep cool.

Iris then quickly approaches Barry, gets on her tippy toes and covers his Eyes and says playfully, "Guess who thinks you're 'dreamy'!? She sounded like a schoolgirl would.

Eddie sends her a surprising look with a sly smile. Barry, even with his eyes covered appeared to be clueless about what Iris was rambling on about. "Iris, don't you think we're getting a little bit too old for stuff like this?"

Iris quickly frees Barry's eyes, gets between the two men and give's Barry her signature 100,000 watts smile.

"Um, Iris, Is there something you're not telling me?" Eddie interrupts with a nervous tone that revealed he was feeling out of the loop.

"EDEN!" she quickly yells with her hands going Tada!

"Not this again, Iris." Barry wearily tells Iris before he goes to sit down.

Iris moves closer to Eddie and gives him a quick kiss and hug.

"Eden is my totally hot and totally gorgeous friend who Barry met at Jitters this morning." Iris enlightens him and then turns back to Barry.

"During my break, I decided to call Eden and we talked about girly stuff you probably don't wanna hear about ..." She drifts off as she observes her audience slowly losing interest. "If I'm not mistaken, this was all your idea." She sternly tells Barry.

He just shrugs and says, "And the moral of this story is..."

"You know what Barry? Never mind. Anyways, your name happened to come up; courtesy of yours truly. Long story short, Eden told me she thought you were 'kinda dreamy'." She continues. "She said she found your awkwardness and the whole nerd thing you have going on kinda cute." Iris reveals to him.

"Annnnnnd that's my cue!" Eddie announces. "Iris, Barry, I'll see you both when you're done playing matchmaker." Eddie says kissing Iris' cheek and walking out.

Barry didn't know what he was signing up for when he had told Iris he supported her relationship with Eddie. He thought telling Iris the truth would somehow make it easier. He thought wrong. Seeing her be with him in that moment filled him with unexplainable jealousy. He knew she would never do it just to hurt him and that made him even madder. Why did she always have to be so ... so... perfect? He found himself constantly asking. If she was at fault, at least he'd have a logical reason to disapprove of their relationship and maybe hate her. God, he wanted to hate her so bad but he just couldn't.

He knew he should be happy for her but he wasn't and he didn't care if it was okay. He didn't care if it was the friendly thing to do. All he knew was he wanted to have her. He loved every single thing about her. Getting over her wasn't an easy task at all.

When he had told Cisco and Caitlin about their talk, Cisco had advised him to make a list of everything he didn't like about her; physically and personality wise. He took Cisco's advice and when he tried to, he ended up staring and giggling at the paper for two hours straight. Everything he came up with was justified with one and the same thought. "But it's so adorable when she does it." He just ended up fantasizing about a Utopia where he never got struck by lightning and didn't stay in a coma for nine months and Eddie Thawne never came along; a utopia where he could call Iris his.

When Cisco had called back to check on him, he told him what had happened and all Cisco said was, "Duuuuude, you've got a bad case of the feels and sadly, even Dr. Cupid can't help you with this one. Sorry buddy, you're on your own."

"Cisco, don't give up on me. I need your help now more than ever." Barry begged him on the phone.

"Wow, you're really in love with her aren't you?" Cisco suddenly realized.

**"Like crazy."** Barry replied. "Sometimes it just plainly hurts."

"I'll call you!" She says to Eddie as he disappears and then she turns to Barry.

"Iris, Eden seems really nice and all but I don't think we have that much in common." Barry tries to tell her in the hopes of making her drop the topic before he said something he couldn't take back. He wasn't over her yet and he so wasn't ready to start dating someone else.

"Barry, I know you. You always try to shut things down before they even start. Eden is amazing, I know you two will hit it off and I want you to be happy." She assures him.

"How am I supposed to love anyone else if I'm still in love with you?" Barry asks her sincerely. "I thought moving on would be easy but Iris, it's not. I still think of you every second of every day. When I'm at work, I'm always hoping the next person to walk in would be you. And worst of all, I have to work with him knowing he's the only thing standing between me and you." He says looking down. "I wish it was that easy, but it just isn't. And, trust me, I've tried!" He presses his palm to his forehead.

Iris is speechless for a few seconds. "It can't be easy for you and I know that."

"And how could you possibly know that, Iris? You could basically get any guy in school. You were the girl every guy dreamed of going to prom with; including me." He giggles nervously.

"Barry, I'm sorry okay. I really am. I'm trying the best I can to be here for you. I know that's not much but..." Iris starts but Barry interrupts when he sees her eyes getting glassy.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that. I know you have my best interest at heart and I'm sorry for being inconsiderate." Barry apologizes.

Iris smiles and starts blinking rapidly in the hopes of making her tears disappear.

"I thought you getting to know Eden would maybe help, you know? Maybe get your mind off things. I already feel guilty as hell for the way things are now."

"Don't." Barry reassures her.

"Just promise me you'll at least try with Eden?" She begs.

Barry could never deny her anything. He couldn't bear to see her hurting. Not when he could do something about it. "Fine, I will." He gives up.

"Great! It's a double date then." She reveals with excitement.

Barry raises an eyebrow.

"Too soon?" She inquires.

Barry nods.

"Okay, we'll just call it a group hang then." She says.

"Much better." Barry agrees.

"Eden doesn't really have any other friends since she's new in town so, be ... be Barry." She advises as she tilts her head to the side and smiles.

"Yeah, It's going to be hard, but I'll try my very best to be 'Barry', Iris." He replies sarcastically as he laughs.

"I'm serious!" Iris smacks his arm.

"Alright! I'll be 'Barry'." He reassures her; air quotes evident in his tone.

"Good! I'll leave you to whatever you're doing. Text me when you get off?" She asks.

"Will do." He answers.

Iris turns and walks away. She almost reaches the door before Barry calls out. "Iris!"

Typical Barry felt guilty and compelled to ask her about the flash since he couldn't stand her being mad at him; be it as the Flash or as Barry Allen.

"Yeah?" Iris turns around.

"Um... you haven't been talking about the Flash in a while. Did something happen?" He tries to ask with utter subtlety.

"Turns out he wasn't who I thought he was. Ugh how could I have been so stupid? I should've listened to you Bear." She says regretfully.

"Maybe he ..." Iris cuts him off.

"Don't! Don't try to defend him, Barry." She says as she walks out.

Was she really that mad at him? ... The Flash? Barry thought to himself. Telling her his secret just became 10 x harder to do. He feared it could be the only lie their friendship could not survive.

It's Friday Morning.

Iris texts Barry.

Iris: What are you wearing?!

Barry: ... umm what..?

Iris: Tonight! Please tell me you didn't forget.

Barry: Oh, it's Friday already?

Iris: Yes it's 'Friday already'. Send me pics of what you plan on wearing tonight.

Barry: Iris, I'm not sending you pictures of my clothes. Like I said, you need more girlfriends. Guy's just don't do stuff like that.

Iris: Since when?! I basically picked out every outfit you wore to school during election week. You couldn't have won class treasurer without me and you know it.

Barry: Iris. We're not in high school anymore.

Iris: Whatever, just be on time okay? We might be used to 'Tardy Barry' but Eden might take it the wrong way.

Barry: Got it! See you tonight.

Its finally 7pm. Eddie picks Iris up from the West house and they ride together to the movie theater. It's pretty dark out already and the weather is absolutely ideal for the night they had planned. Iris gets out of the car and notice's that Barry's late again. Thankfully, Eden was too. They both wait for five minutes in the movie theatre lobby but still no signs of Barry or Eden.

"I can already tell they're going to hit it off." Eddie says jokingly.

"I specifically told him not be late. Ugh. I'll call him." Iris tells Eddie.

"You do that. I'll go buy the tickets." Eddie says before kissing her on the forehead and leaving.

Iris takes out her phone and just as she's about to dial Barry's number, she feels a swift wind blow on her from behind.

"I told you I'd be on time, didn't I?" Barry whispers from behind her.

"Well, you're in luck because Eden is running late." She turns around and says sternly.

Barry becomes speechless. He takes the time to take in how beautiful she looked in the pale movie theatre lighting. God she was beautiful. How on earth was he supposed to move on with another girl now? He thought to himself.

She had on a black and white striped t-shirt, tucked into a black scallop hemmed mini skirt. She also wore the same black booties from last time, only this time, he could see she paired it with a pair of black lace socks that went a little above the boot cut. He noticed her legs appeared longer and sexier in that skirt. Barry could have given anything in that moment to reach out and touch them. She was wearing a pomegranate - like scent that made her smell yummy. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun with strands rebelliously falling down her temples. She hung her cross body Rebecca Minkoff bag across her frame and she was wearing the wedding band he had given her for Christmas around her neck. He grinned to himself at the sight of it.

Just when Barry thought she couldn't get any sexier, she proves him wrong. She could literally put on rags and look perfect in his eyes. On multiple occasions when Caitlin would catch him staring, she would say, "Iris must be some sort of succubi. Look, you're basically drooling at the sight of her." He just could not keep himself from being mesmerized by her.

"Barry! Look at me." Iris snaps.

"Sorry, it's just, you look really freaking sexy ... nice." He catches himself before he made things even more awkward this early on in the night.

Barry is wearing a pair of black jeans, a white graphic baseball tee, an army green jacket, black oxford shoes and a black beanie.

Iris scans him from head to toe and reaches for his Beanie. "Beanies were made for bad hair days. Barry Allen does not have bad hair days." She says as she gets on her tippy toes and begins to run and ruffle her fingers through his hair. She was right. Barry's hair always seemed to look perfectly imperfect no matter what.

"There. Now you look dashing." She smiles at him.

She was making this (moving on) harder. Barry thought to himself.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was horrible!" Eden walks up to them and hugs Iris.

"No need to apologize." Iris responds.

She then gives Barry a look which led to him complimenting Eden. "You look really pretty." He says with a sincere grin.

Eden was wearing a black midi skirt and a lime green criss-cross crop top. A little bit of her belly was exposed, thus giving the whole outfit a very daring vibe. Her long red hair was curled and she had on brown heeled sandals.

"Thanks Barry, you don't look so bad yourself." She responds with a cute smile.

Eddie walks up to them and says, "4 tickets to ..." He stops short at the sight of Eden.

"Eddie Thawne?!" Eden asks shockingly.

"Eden Crowley?!" Eddie asks shockingly as well.

FIN.

Longest Chapter Ever Am I Right?! Lol

I got tired of you all telling me it was plain rude to write short chapters and end on a cliffhanger so I did something about it and man am I glad I did.

What do you like? What do you hate? Please leave me some comments!

THEY MAKE ME UNEXPLAINABLY HAPPY!

I started writing this to get us through the hiatus and guys, its finally here. Tuesday is literally 3 days away! :D #wemadeit

Okay, I have nothing else to say other than, Jan 20th IS COMING! And... I have to pee...

Stay Splendid,

xxxxsplendidjaniexxxx


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